"What this means to the department and students is that we have validation of the quality of the facilities, staff, major program, and other resources (library, instrumentation)," explained Associate Professor of Chemistry Richard Blatchly. "The students will get a certificate attesting to this, and presumably will have it marked on their transcripts. That should be appealing to employers and graduate schools."

Dr. Blatchly also said that prospective students frequently ask if our programs are ACS approved. The answer now is "Yes." The approval could be very important, Dr. Blatchly noted, "as it marks us as an institution which cares a lot about academic quality, and is willing to provide the resources and energy to achieve and maintain it."